The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-20
False Reports.

! Whenever the public mind is excited
about any matter of Importance and ready
to accept sensational reports about it, how
ever unreasonable they may be, such re-
ports are certain to get afloat. Sometimes
! they originate with persons who are infiu-
enced only by desire to alarm their ac-
quaintances, and have little fun at their
expense, at other times they are the result
of misunderstanding, and not infrequently
they are suggested by malice, and are in
tended to do harm.
Soon after yellow fever made its APP
pearance at Key West early last summer,
it was reported that it had broken out in
several Florida towns, and also in this city.
Since the fever has been in Tampa alarm
has been caused in several of the other
towns of Florida by unfounded reports that
it had been discovered in them.
Jacksonville especially has been greatly
annoyed by false reports of the existence of
the yellow fever within her limits. A few
DAYS ago a report got abroad in Tallahassee
that there were thirty-flve cases of fever in
Jacksonville and on investigation it was
found that dispatch had been received at
Tallahassee containing statement of that
kind
The manager at Jacksonville of the
Western Union Telegraph Company de-
termined to find out the sender of the false
information. His investigation had not
proceeded far before one of the operators
confessed that he had sent the dispatch
upon which the report circulated at ITALIA
hassee was based.
He said that young girl at the Tallahas-
see office, whose acquaintance with teleg
raphy was so limited that one became
hungry while waiting for her to receive a
message, kept bothering him with the ques-
ton whether there was yellow fever at
Jacksonville He told her several times
that there was not, and finally, in spirit
of fun, stated that there were $50 cases, but
that she must be careful not to tell any one
about the matter. Her understanding of
the dispatch was that there We're thirty five
cases, and although the rules of the Western
Union Company forbidding operators to
make public information they receive over
the wires are very stringent, the report
soon circulated through Tallahassee that
Jacksonville had thirty-five cases of fever.
A fun loving operator at Jacksonville, an
inefficient operator at Tallahassee, and the
inability of a woman to keep a secret, com
bined to set ahoat an apparently authentic
report that was very injurious to the
metropolis of Florida.
Not very many years ago it was the
policy in towns in this country liable to yell
low fever to conceal the existence of the
fever as long as there was any hope of pre-
venting it from becoming epidemic. That
policy no longer prevails. The health
authorities now act on the theory that the
people should be informed when danger
threatens them, in order that they
may have ample time to escape
before escape becomes impossible. If they
are to deal with an epidemic they prefer
that there shall be as little material as pos
sible for the disease to work upon. If other
alarming reports are started, therefore, in
Jacksonville, or other healthy Florida
| towns, the people interested can afford tC
wait and see if they are confirmed by theil
health authorities before abandoning theil
homes.